COVID-19 and Perth Fortress Corps

5 April 2020

Greetings Perth Fortress Corps.

These are indeed unprecedented days; however, our eyes are up and we have every confidence in our God who knows all things, is everywhere present and all-powerful. Hallelujah!

In light of recent announcements by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, communication from The Salvation Army and in consultation with the Perth Fortress Senior Leadership Team, the following decisions have been made:

Sundays 

Sunday worship meetings are online only until further notice. We will be bringing together a reduced number of participants**** to help provide a live-streamed meeting for you to watch online at 10am Sundays. The link for this will be sent to you shortly and we encourage you to gather in small groups, in homes, to worship together, but please observe physical distancing, and good hygiene practices including the handling of food.

All gatherings at Perth Fortress Corps on a Sunday are paused for now. These include:

Prayer Meeting.
YP Activities – including Timbrels.
Songster Practice****.
Messy Church.
Contemporary Worship Group****.

The prayer chain will continue so please contact Major Olive Dell with any prayer requests.

Large Planned Events – cancelled (April YP Event, Anzac Day, etc).

Other Corps Activities

We have been instructed that all Seniors Programs and Bands are not to be run until further notice. Therefore, any activity/event, whether it be held at the corps or at other locations (e.g. a person’s home) that involves vulnerable peoples are paused for now. These are:

Companion Club.
Mainly Music.
Senior**** and YP Band Practice.
Fellowship Lunches.
SOL.
Literacy Class.
Men’s Fellowship.

The following activities are not likely to involve ‘vulnerable’ people and must adhere to the 1.5m physical distancing requirement and observe the necessary hygiene practices. If this is not possible, the activity is not to proceed. These activities are:

Junior and Senior Youth Group.
Young Adults Bible Study and Social.

The following meetings will observe physical distancing or go online:

SPCC Meetings.
SLT Meetings.
Portfolio Meetings.
Life groups.

We are committed to reviewing these decisions in accordance with advice received and/or published guidelines, policy and legislation, and communicating any changes as soon as possible.

The church is not a building. We are the church, the body of Christ, and while our corporate gatherings may look different in the weeks ahead, we encourage you each to care for one another and explore new ways of keeping in touch, such as phone calls , social media or video calls, and where it is wise, to meet in smaller numbers (observing physical distancing, of course). We will continue to communicate with you as more information comes to hand.

Be assured of our commitment to you and our Corps at this time and do not hesitate to contact us.

God is good. God is faithful.

Much Grace.

Majors Alwyn and Deborah Robinson.

-----

PDF copy of letter sent 19 March 2020